Quotes About Intention

For whatsoever it be, it is in thy power either to do it, or to say it, and therefore seek not any pretences, as though thou wert hindered.

Epictetus nicely likened this process to gaming: "The counters are indifferent and the dice are indifferent: how do I know which way they will fall? But to use the throw carefully and skillfully, that is my job.

You have to assemble your life yourself - action by action. And be satisfied if each one achieves its goal, as far as it can. No one can keep that from happening.

Concentrate every minute like a Roman—like a man—on doing what's in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions. Yes, you can—if you do everything as

20. In a sense, people are our proper occupation. Our job is to do them good and put up with them. But when they obstruct our proper tasks, they become irrelevant to us—like sun, wind, animals. Our actions may be impeded by them, but there can be no impeding our intentions or our dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.

The directing mind is that which wakes itself, adapts itself, makes itself of whatever nature it wishes, and makes all that happens to it appear in the way it wants.

that no one does the wrong thing deliberately;

Considerando que é possível tu deixares esta vida a qualquer momento, administra cada ato, palavra e pensamento em consonância com isso.

Marcus Aurelius

The motion of the mind is not as the motion of a dart. For the mind when it is wary and cautelous, and by way of diligent circumspection turneth herself many ways, may then as well be said to go straight on to the object, as when it useth no such circumspection.

Do not waste the remainder of thy life in thoughts about others, when thou dost not refer thy thoughts to some object of common utility. For thou losest the opportunity of doing something else when thou hast such thoughts as these

And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last

Let no one have the chance to accuse you, with any truth, of not being sincere or a good man: make sure that anyone taking this view of you is a liar. This is wholly up to you- who is there to prevent you being good and sincere? You must just decide to live no longer if you won't have these qualities. And reason too abandons the man who won't. p102

You must build up your life action by action, and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible.

Be not dilatory in doing, nor confused in conversation, nor vague in thought; let not thy soul be wholly concentred in itself nor uncontrollably agitated; leave thyself leisure in thy life.

self-reliance and an unequivocal determination not to leave anything to chance;

If I love you, is that a fact or a weapon?

And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.

I'm not senile, I snapped. If I burn the house down it will be on purpose.

I planned my death carefully, unlike my life, which meandered along from one thing to another, despite my feeble attempts to control it.

If you do bad things for reasons you've been told are good, does it make you a bad person?

That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before. You do that first in your head, and then you make it real.

Love is a discipline, like prayer," I said.

Bless you. Be careful. Anyone intending to meddle with words needs such blessing, such warning.